Part 522 - Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions

(a) Contracting officer’s responsibilities.

(1)  Provide instructions to the appropriate Finance Office whether to withhold funds from contract payments pending final administrative determination.

(2)  Notify the Finance Office of your final decision to assess liquidated damages.

(3)  After final decision, provide instructions to either immediately release to the contractor any funds in excess of the amount specified in your decision or initiate the collection of additional funds (see paragraph (c) of this section).

(4)  Advise the contractor in writing of any decision to withhold funds, including the reasons for the withholding, and the amount held to satisfy the contractor’s liability for unpaid wages and liquidated damages. Coordinate all written communications with the contractor, including the notification of dispute resolution procedures under the Department of Labor’s regulations at 29 CFR Parts 4 through 8, with the Office of Regional Counsel.

(b) Procedures for the collection of liquidated damages.

(1)  Initiate collection action by either:

(i)  Withholding funds from payments due on the contract.

(ii)  Issuing a demand for payment, if no funds were withheld or the amount withheld was less than the liquidated damages.

(2)  Indicate in the demand letter the intent to offset from the contractor’s other Government contracts if payment is not made.

(3)  Provide the Finance Office with a:

(i)  Copy of the demand letter.

(ii) Request that it initiate collection action under 41 CFR 105-55, Collection of Claims Owed the United States, if payment is not made in accordance with the demand letter.

(c) Review 502.101, to determine who the agency head is for purposes of FAR 22.302(c) (Chapters 13(2)(f) and 17(5)(a)).

GSA’s contracting officers must require the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) in accordance with FAR 22.5, unless an exception has been granted by the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). This subpart -

(a) Provides general policies regarding PLAs;

(b) Prescribes the policy and procedures for implementing exceptions to the PLA requirement; and

(c) Provides detailed procedures for reporting the use of PLAs and the exceptions granted for PLAs, as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

(a) PLA submission timing alternates.

(1) Contracting activities are encouraged to review FAR provision 52.222-33 and its alternates to determine which one is appropriate for the particular project. Pursuant to FAR 22.505, the contracting officer may require submission of the PLA by all offerors, by the apparent successful offeror prior to award, or by the awardee after contract award. The contracting officer’s decision may be influenced by time constraints on contract award, the project delivery method, or the experience of the potential offerors with PLAs.

(2) Contracting activities should consider the benefits of using the alternate clauses, the effect on contract award and contract performance.

(3) Contracting activities must decide when and what PLA documentation is required for the procurement and identify the requirements in the solicitation. For each acquisition with a mandatory PLA, contracting activities need to decide whether to require offerors to-

(i) Submit the fully signed PLA or draft PLA with the offer submission;

(ii) Submit the fully signed PLA from only the apparent successful offeror, prior to contract award; or

(iii) Submit the fully signed PLA after the contract is awarded (e.g., 30/60/90 days after award of the contract or prior to the construction start notice to proceed).

(b) Synopsis. For procurements that use PLAs, contracting activities shall include language that identifies the solicitation as a PLA project. Sample language can be found on the Project Labor Agreement topic page of the GSA Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.

Before notifying or furnishing information to DOL under FAR 22.608(b), coordinate with legal counsel.

Contracting Officers who are considering requesting a substantial variance should coordinate with assigned legal counsel and the agency labor advisor. The agency labor advisor submits any request.

Submit each waiver request to the agency labor advisor. The agency labor advisor forwards the request to the appropriate office for concurrence and approval.

After consultation with OGC, the contracting officer shall forward complaints to the cognizant Department of Labor office, with a copy to the agency labor advisor and the appropriate Office of Inspector General Field Office.

Submit each waiver request to the agency labor advisor. The agency labor advisor forwards the request to the appropriate office for concurrence and approval.

After consultation with OGC, forward complaints to the cognizant OFCCP office, with a copy to the agency labor advisor and the appropriate Office of Inspector General Field Office.

Refer matters for investigation under FAR 22.1503(e) to the appropriate Office of Inspector General Field Office.